Iraq acknowledges mine on tanker, explosives experts trying to defuse, evacuate crew

Iraqi explosives experts are trying Friday to defuse a large mine discovered on an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, Iraq officials say.

The announcement follows two private security firms saying Thursday that sailors aboard the MT Pol feared they had found a limpet mine on the Liberian-flagged tanker, off  the Iraqi port of Basra. 

A limpet mine is a type of naval mine that attaches to the side of a ship, usually by a diver-member of special forces, according to the Associated Press. The explosion can significantly damage a vessel.

Iraqi officials also said in the announcement Friday the mine is attached to a tanker rented from Iraq’s Oil Marketing Company SOMO and that it was refueling another vessel in the Persian Gulf. However, neither of the two vessels has been identified.

The discovery comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iraq, in President Trump’s final days of his administration.

In 2019, the U.S. blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all the world’s oil passes. Iran denies being involved.